Interview with Brit on board supertanker seized by pirates
- 00:00:40
- ITN
Interview with Brit on board supertanker seized by pirates
A British hostage on an oil tanker captured by Somali pirates has spoken of his ordeal. Peter French is one of two Britons on board the Sirius Star, the Saudi supertanker seized ten days ago. The ship was hijacked off the Horn of Africa with $100 million (£65m) worth of oil and 25 crew members on board, including Mr French, from County Durham, and James Grady, from Renfrewshire. The pirates reportedly demanded a ransom of $25 million (£16m) for the release of the ship and its crew, before slashing the price to $15 million (£10m). The British and Saudi governments last week issued pleas to the Saudi owners of the Sirius Star not to pay a ransom. In a telephone call to ITV News, Mr French said morale was high on the ship. It was unclear whether the call was being supervised by his captors. He said: "The pirates (are) no problem whatsoever. We have had no mistreatment or anything. "Hopefully we are gonna get some more phone calls to our families soon. Our families don't have too much to worry about at the moment. "All in all, we are not too badly off." Mr French added: "The boys (the pirates) are quite happy. We are talking to them all the time, reassuring them. "Apart from the inconvenience of being locked up, our life is not too bad."
ITN | November 25, 2008
